Special NIA Court Sentences Indian Mujahideen Operative to 10-year Imprisonment in Terror Conspiracy Case

A special NIA court here on Thursday sentenced an operative of the proscribed Indian Mujahideen to 10 years’ imprisonment in a terror conspiracy case of 2012, an official said.

Syed Maqbool was convicted under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the special NIA court here on September 22. His sentence was pronounced on Thursday.

He is the fifth person to have been sentenced in the case out of the total 11 accused, a spokesperson of the federal agency said.

On July 12, four persons — Danish Ansari, Aftab Alam, Imran Khan and Obaid-Ur-Rehman — were found guilty in the case and sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.

The official said Maqbool of Nanded area of Maharashtra was arrested in the case on February 28, 2013 for his active involvement with members of the Indian Mujahideen based in the country and Pakistan and his involvement in the crime and conspiracy.

It has been revealed that he maintained close ties with key figures of the Indian Mujahideen, including Riyaz Bhatkal, who is based in Pakistan, and Imran Khan and Obaid-Ur-Rehman, who are located in India, the spokesperson said.

They said the operatives hatched a conspiracy to carry out attacks at various locations within India, with Hyderabad being a primary target. Extensive reconnaissance of important sites, including those in Hyderabad, was also conducted by them.

The case, registered in 2012, pertains to the conspiracy hatched by the members of the Indian Mujahideen, a group responsible for organising a series of devastating blasts across the country between 2006 and 2013, the spokesperson said.

These acts of terror include the Varanasi blasts on March 7, 2006; the Mumbai serial blasts on July 11, 2006; the UP courts serial blasts in Varanasi, Faizabad and Lucknow on November 23, 2007; the Hyderabad twin blasts on August 25, 2007; the Jaipur serial blasts, the Delhi serial blasts, the Ahmedabad serial blasts in 2008; the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore in 2010; and the Hyderabad twin blasts in 2013.

The trial in this case pertaining to the remaining six accused persons, who face a range of charges under the IPC and the UA(P) Act, is ongoing, the spokesperson said.

In March, the accused, including Yasin Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar, Zia-Ur-Rehman, Tehsin Akhter and Hyder Ali, were formally charged in the case.